In Conversation With Paris Syndrome

After years of gaining a cult following on social media and developing “scientifically perfect music” the avant-garde four-piece phenomenon from Aberdeen that is Paris Syndrome have now turned their sights to performing live with their first gig this Saturday.

In between a busy schedule of band practise and trying to dismantle capitalism, band members Jade Flannery, Lewis Scott, Siobhan Keegan, and Ben Martin, meet with me in a quiet beer garden to discuss their upcoming performance, their music, and the ideology behind Paris Syndrome.

They’re wonderfully sardonic. Straddling that narrow divide between disaffection and self-awareness, they capture that all too millennial feeling of existential dread. This ethos is beautifully captured in the name; a collection of physical and psychological symptoms exhibited by (often Asian) tourists when they visit Paris and find it does not meet their unrealistic expectations.

That sensation of sobering up, realising that the romantic veneer has peeled off and you’re left with the almost traumatic disappointment with reality is “what we’re all about as a band” laughs Lewis wryly.

Despite this carefully curated façade, it’s Lewis’ parents they have to thank for the name.

“We just made a long, long list of names. We were nearly called like Automatron, or something like that … We asked my parents. Paris Syndrome was the only one left on the list, that was good. But it’s worked out because it’s kinda like, it’s got a meaning to it.” admits Lewis sheepishly.

Hearing the chemistry between all four members as they laugh amongst themselves and sip on their drinks (amaretto and coke for Jade, Lewis, and Siobhan, and a Guinness for Ben) it’s hard to reconcile that they’ve only been a quartet for a few months.

Originally formed as the result of a “lot of riffs in minor progression” from Lewis, Jade suggested they form a band. Although initially hesitant to play as a duo, realising that you could form a band with only two members after seeing another group perform, the pair “and we just starting recording stuff that day”.

There’s something of a modern day Sartre and de Beauvoir in Lewis and Jade’s relationship, albeit replacing chain-smoking with vaping. The pair are highly collaborative, often to the point that they find it hard to separate each other’s efforts in their music. “There’s some songs that we’ve written that it’s really hard to pull apart. We couldn't say did you write that line, or that bass part, or guitar part. There’s no song where the other one didn’t have some hand in it somewhere along the way” admits Lewis. Jade nods,“Everything we do ends up, even if one of us has written most of it, we tend to be quite collaborative” Yet despite this harmoniousness, there’s an edge of competitiveness to this relationship. “Competing with each other kinda keeps us on our toes a little bit” adds Jade.

After several months recording their home studio the pair decided to recruit new members to the Paris Syndrome institute.

Siobhan was the first addition. Having already been friends with Jade they seemed like an obvious choice, so much so that they didn’t need to audition. “I don’t know why I thought of you, I think it’s just because you’re really cool.” admits Lewis.

Sourcing a drummer was harder, especially in Aberdeen. “We’re rare” agrees Ben, “We’re gold dust.” Like Siobhan he also didn’t have to interview. “I was just told to arrive at a practice session” he confesses. When asked what it is that convinced him to join, he pauses for a moment. “Definitely the sound … the attitude around the music … I guess we’re predominantly rooted in punk music, something that projects it with a bit of anger or frustration … but they’re singing.”

This distinctly punk heritage is perhaps most apparent in their lyrics. “I am genuinely trying to stop writing so many songs that are just me being angry about capitalism.” begins Lewis before Jade chimes in, “I’m not!” Yet like the original punks of the 1970s and 1980s, Paris Syndrome use their music as a vehicle for expressing their views on political and social issues. “Trying to get a political message across is quite difficult with certain ideas, but it’s quite easy to get people to sing along … it’s less annoying if you put it into a song that people like” reflects Jade.

It’s unsurprising then to hear that Lewis and Jade spend a lot of time discussing politics, to the point that Lewis calls them “Jade Class Warfare Flannery”.

Growing up in a political family, Jade has always been very pro-union and pro-workers rights. “My nan’s brothers and her dad were all miners and involved in the miners’ strikes” they confide, before adding that they and Siobhan bonded over “feminist, queer, left-wing” politics. “I really struggle with what’s been termed identity politics” they add. “If somebody fundamentally believes you don’t have the right to exist and you don’t have the right to basic welfare … but think they’re a good person and you can still be friends … you fundamentally know they don’t respect you … my right to live is under question …” they shake their head.

This drive to engage with the world and challenge social norms is intrinsic to Paris Syndrome; “I spent many, many years of my life trying to write stuff that was timeless … but with Paris Syndrome … we’re going to write about what is happening right not, what the problems are right now” observes Lewis.

In addition to being their first performance as a group, Saturday evening will also be Siobhan’s first time performing live. “I’m excited” they shrug nonchalantly, with their trademark taciturnity. Ben, however, is more more forthcoming. “I think it hits that sweet spot of fear, excitement … and I am a bit of an exhibitionist. I am an artist as well … I like to put my work, whatever that is, out for people to judge, whether they like it or not. I love it. I think you’d be lying if you didn’t like the lights on you, didn’t like the … not the attention … the eyes looking at you … when it goes right, it’s the best feeling” he enthuses.

After a quick round in the limelight it will be back to the recording studio, or rather Jade’s living room, for Paris Syndrome to record some new material, including a future album that Lewis promises will be “about the end of the world because we have so many songs that are about how the world is ending”.

As we finish our drinks and begin to wrap up the interview Paris Syndrome remind me that they are keen to stress that “despite what you may have heard, we are definitely not a cult”.

Paris Syndrome are performing alongside PK Bats and Depeche Choad at The Blue Lamp in Aberdeen on Saturday the second of September, 2023; doors open at 19:30.

To book a ticket go to https://ticketlab.co.uk/event/id/16899#/.

Paris Syndrome is Jade Flannery, Lewis Scott, Siobhan Keegan, and Ben Martin, and the contents of their collective brains. Based in Aberdeen, Scotland, their institute is dedicated to creating scientifically perfect music. They are pretty cool people.

Follow them on Bandcamp (https://weareparissyndrome.bandcamp.com/) and Instagram @weareparissyndrome.